o8 I N A G U A 



By lying on the very edge of a boulder close to the water 

 and catching glimpses between swells when the water smoothed 

 out, I could make out its den about twelve feet down. During 

 the middle of the day the creature was generally out of sight but 

 as the afternoon wore on it usually came to the opening and 

 protruded it head. I determined to capture it if possible and rid 

 the neighborhood of its presence. From the pile under the 

 canvas I extracted a length of quarter inch line of Manila origi- 

 nally intended for jib lazy jacks. For a hook I bent a steel rod 

 that was used as a small spreader on the ship and filed one end 

 to a point. There was no way of making a barb but I felt that 

 if I could keep a taut line I could prevent the moray from slip- 

 ping off. 



Late the same afternoon when the tide had dropped I clam- 

 bered out to the farthest boulder overlooking its den, captured 

 one of the fish frequenting the pool, and thrust the hook 

 through its back. With a penknife I slit the sides to make them 

 bleed freely and then dropped it over. The moray was not in 

 sight but I thought perhaps it might be a foot or two back in 

 its crevice. The bait swirled back and forth but by a little jug- 

 gling I managed to hold it exactly over the opening. A number 

 of small fish came darting close, swimming excitedly about the 

 morsel. Because of the motion of the surf it was difficult to 

 see but in about ten minutes the ugly green head slowly began 

 to project. Never have I witnessed more cautious action. A bare 

 fraction of an inch at a time my intended victim slid forward, 

 creeping sinuously between the algae. The smaller fish hung 

 at a respectful distance, interested but not daring to approach. 

 Deliberately the mouth opened, exposing a row of straight 

 ivory teeth. The head sUd forward again; anxiously I moved the 

 bait closer until it was almost touching the moray's snout. The 

 inner lining of the exposed throat was clean and white. The 

 jaws closed carefully over the dead fish, exasperatingly slow. 



